He was made to pay for a poor start to the season and has been virtually ignored ever since, but Michael Proctor might just have saved a struggling Sunderland's season.

For, make no mistake, before his last-minute winner on Saturday, the Wearsiders were not only on their way to dropping two more points at home, they were heading for a winter of discontent in the stands.

Having dominated for the first 45 minutes and taken the lead through Marcus Stewart's penalty after George McCartney was caught in the area by former Black Cat Darren Holloway, the game changed when Paul Thirlwell sliced the ball into the roof of his own net from the edge of the area, seconds before half time.

It was Wimbledon's only shot on goal from open play in the half, but it mattered not. Sunderland, having looked capable of brushing the visitors aside without too much concern, returned after the break nervous and disjointed.

With passes going astray with alarming regularity, the crowd - the second lowest for a league game at the Stadium of Light - subdued all afternoon, gradually allowed the frustration of the last two months to get the better of them.

As well as jeers and moans, sections resorted to chanting for the removal of the board, as the need for a scapegoat rose with each overhit cross or underhit pass.

Quite what those fans hope to achieve by baying for the head of chairman Bob Murray is open to question, especially after all the upheaval of the last 12 months, but for the first time this season the fans had turned against the club.

It is understandable. The second-half mess against the Dons was dire and came after six games without a win, a run which put the Wearsiders in the bottom three in the form table, level with its bottom club - Wimbledon.

But how quickly things can change and Proctor's winner, which came after Patrick Agyemang and Joel McAnuff had both gone close to giving the visitors the lead, might prove the turning point in a season which had looked in danger of slipping towards midtable mediocrity.

Last-minute winners have a remarkable habit of lifting the grey clouds and the injection of confidence Proctor's clinical finish brought comes as the season moves into its final half.

In terms of impact it is unlikely there has been a more important goal for the Black Cats all season and it was a fitting prize for a player who has proven that patience does pay off.

A proven goalscorer in the First Division, following a loan spell at Bradford City last season, the youth team graduate has bided his time in the reserves under Mick McCarthy. It has undoubtedly been frustrating for the young forward, but it is time he has used well, reaching double figures for the second-string of a club whose first team has struggled to score all season.

But still McCarthy made him wait for his chance, preferring his summer signing Tommy Smith and the experience of Marcus Stewart.

That was once again the case on Saturday, with Stewart and Smith linking up in attack, with Proctor and Kevin Kyle sitting in the dugout.

When Kyle was thrown on with just over half an hour to go to try to swing the game back into the Black Cats' favour, Proctor was silently stretching down by the corner flag, his face giving away no indication as to what he felt at being overlooked once again. In the end, eight minutes, or more accurately a couple of seconds, was all he needed to make his impression.

Yet, if Proctor deserved his match- winner tag, special mention should also be given to John Oster.

The Welshman was comfortably Sunderland's biggest threat all afternoon, his ability to beat defenders and run with the ball at his feet a welcome break from the more mundane arts around him.

Oster has been a revelation this season after almost two years in the reserves and a poor reputation in the stands.

And it was his gentle flick with the outside of his boot which wrong-footed a seemingly solid Dons' defence and sent Proctor in for the vital goal. Minutes earlier McCarthy had instructed Stewart to give Oster a gentle gee-up after a poor cross from the left had brought howls of derision from the home support.

It was a telling piece of man-management from a boss who appears to have found the way to extract the best from the former Everton man, an arm around the shoulder rather than a touchline rollicking.

Had Oster's head dropped, as it looked as though it had, he may never have made the burst forward or shown the awareness to spot Proctor's run which was every bit as important as the goal itself.

It was just a shame both acts were ultimately overshadowed by Kyle's bizarre sending-off in injury time. The big forward's decision to chase Wimbledon defender Rob Gier and shove him in the chest following a clumsy challenge was not the most sensible thing to do.

It was certainly worthy of a yellow card, but quite why referee Mark Warren decided to show him two, one for foul language and another for the shove, had everyone scratching their head in disbelief.

It may have just been a breakdown in communications with his linesman, who is understood to have told him the incident deserved two yellows; or the West Midlands-based official could just have set a new precedent - a single incident punished twice. This week's fall-out will be interesting.